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{
    "id": 405793,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/405793/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 65,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13156,
        "legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
        "slug": "mutula-kilonzo-jnr"
    },
    "content": ".: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Motion. It is fair that I say that as a member of a very renown organization known as the Rotary Clubs and being a past President of my Rotary Club, I had the opportunity of visiting Mathare and Kibera slums. This issue is, in fact, a national disaster and it appears from the way we have handled it in the past that we are waiting for something to happen and yet the waste is increasing. The Dandora dumpsite is something that is always in the news but little has been done to deal with the issue of the young men and women who are making a living and carrying out very illegal activities at the Dandora dumpsite. Recently in the print and electronic media, it was reported that there are factories that are disposing of waste into Lake Victoria. It is also not news that waste from our own Ruai dumpsite is being dumped into Nairobi River. There is also evidence that there are people who are dumping waste into Nairobi River and many other rivers. This has gone on with impunity. In the process of not dealing with this issue inspite of the fact that we have regulations and laws that govern the disposal of waste, we have let some people go and deal with this matter with impunity to the extent that they are a health hazard to very many Kenyans. Unfortunately, when you go to the Nairobi suburbs of Karen, Runda and many others, you do not find these dumpsites there. They are only found in places where the local mwananchi lives and then we allow them to live with that dump and yet we are not dealing with it. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in developed countries it is an offence even to drop a chewing gum or even a piece of paper in the city. The Nairobi City is probably the dirtiest in the country and yet it is a place where all of us live and make a living. This is because we have ignored this issue. Unfortunately, although this is a problem, it can be turned into an income generating activity if it is properly managed. In my experience in the Rotary Club, there are people in Kibera who have turned this waste into usable energy and biogas. I am also aware of some places where they are collecting bottles and taking them for recycling. But there appears to be no deliberate effort, at any level, particularly at the national level to address this issue. The last time there was an issue of disposal of plastic paper bags, it was opposed strongly by Parliament to the extent that the effort to deal with the disposal of these papers has not been addressed. The proposal to do away with plastic paper bags has also not been addressed. In the end, these plastic paper bags end up on our roads and backyards and it is posing a huge problem. In my experience, I had the privilege of getting US dollars 300,000 to do toilets and bathrooms in Kibera. We had ten feet high of waste to collect and remove from the site and as we were digging, there was four feet more underground of just paper bags and many things. It took us three weeks to dispose of this particular dump site so that we could create a toilet and a usable bathroom for the people of Kibera. This is, in fact, something that is replicated in all our urban dwellings and particularly the slums and it is something that we have to address as the Senate. It should also be addressed nationally. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}